Abstract

A hallmark feature of topological physics is the presence of one-way propagating chiral modes at the system boundary(1,2). The chirality of edge modes is a consequence of the topological character of the bulk. For example, in a non-interacting quantum Hall model, edge modes manifest as mid-gap states between two topologically distinct bulk bands. The bulkboundary correspondence dictates that the number of chiral edge modes, a topological invariant called the winding number, is completely determined by the bulk topological invariant, the Chern number(3). Here, for the first time, we measure the winding number in a 2D photonic system. By inserting a unit flux quantum at the edge, we show that the edge spectrum resonances shift by the winding number. This experiment provides a new approach for unambiguous measurement of topological invariants, independent of the microscopic details, and could possibly be extended to probe strongly correlated topological orders.

Publication Details
Publication Type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2016
Volume
10
Number of Pages
180-+
DOI
10.1038/nphoton.2016.10
Journal
Nature Photonics
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